Age Taking Its Toll on Stormwater Pipes

Savannah,
Georgia’s 19th-century stormwater pipelines are caving in, and the cost
of maintaining the brick structures continues to add up. The city plans
to spend about $500,000 to install a new drainage line, after one of
the brick pipes caved in about four months ago, according to city
officials.

Built in
the years after the Civil War, the brick lines were at one time
connected to the city’s sewer system, and the city has an ongoing
program to locate any missed links that need to be separated.

The
city has no set schedule for replacing the brick pipes, but staff
determines whether it makes economic sense to continue repairing them on
a case-by-case basis. Over time, the expansion caused by the water
within the lines, as well as pressure exerted from the outside, can
cause the pipes’ bricks to loosen and cave in.

The
city eventually plans to abandon all of the brick line. Instead,
stormwater will be rerouted via an underground line, which will run
under the sidewalk. “Nobody will even know it’s there,” said John
Sawyer, public works and water resources bureau chief.

The
expense to build the new line is being covered using funds from the
capital reserve fund for unbudgeted expenses, according to Melissa
Carter, Savannah’s research and budget director.

“There is a lot to be said for historic preservation,” said Sawyer.

“But when it comes to transferring stormwater, we prefer that it actually works.”

In many ways, we are fortunate that, in our chosen profession, we are able to help people when certain disasters occur: the tornadoes in Missouri, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Georgia, the flooding in Louisiana, the snows in the northeastern part of the country, the rain in California, and the snow in Colorado....

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